Fluid seal



New, m W49 R. "E". ZWAC K FLUID SEAL Filed Feb. 2'7, 1,946

TIM/ W3 INVENTOR H; 7." Zlg/HKK AGENT Patented Nov. 22, 1849 SEAL Raymond T. Zwack, West Caldwell, N. J asslgnor to Bendix Aviation Corporation, Teterboro, N. J a corporation of Delaware Application February 27, 1946, Serial No. 650,503 I 2 Claims. (01. 286-11) The invention relates broadly to fluid seals for shafts which are movable in the wall of a chamber or housing containing fluid which may be at a pressure different from that outside.

The invention especially relates to seals of the type including a flexible diaphragm for pumps for aircraft engines, e. g., and has particular reference to a means for detachably drivably connecting the pump to the engine and sealing against leakage around the pump shaft with provisions to eliminate binding and leakage due to misalignment of the driving and pump shafts, and especially to enable one to readily replace the sealing diaphragm.

The use of diaphragm seals is known in connection wtih such drives and presents the problem of finding a readily accessible arrangement in which the diaphragm is sufficiently flexible to permit the seal to be maintained between the rotating thrust parts at high speed with the inevitable torsional drag due to friction.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a means for relieving the diaphragm from the torsional stress due to friction and still, especially in the small sizes used for such pumps, permitting the ready replacement of the diaphragm in the field without special tools or fixtures.

A further object is to provide an improved diaphragm-type sealing means of small inertia and relatively strong force biasing the bearing surfaces into contact at high speeds in spite of the slight misalignments that inevitably occur in practice.

These and other objects and features of the invention are pointed out in the following description in terms of the embodiment thereof which is shown in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only, and are not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a section along the axis of the pump and engine shafts.

Fig. 2 is an end view, partially in the plane 2-2 of Fig. 1, the section being taken only as to the housing and with the clamping nut and its washer and locking ring removed to permit a better view of the diaphragm assembly and the means for preventing rotation thereof.

In the figures wherein like characters represent like elements throughout, the pump shaft I is driven by the engine shaft 2 through the universal 3 which drives the pump shaft without stress due to misalignment of the pump and engine shafts. The pump shaft I is mounted in the pump housing 4, being journalled by bearings 5, containing the pumped fluid in chamber 6, which fluid may be under either pressure or suction.

Pin 1 extends diametrically through the pump shaft I, its ends projecting into slots 8 of the hub of the thrust flange 9 which is closely fitted to the shaft I and has a highly lapped plane thrust surface I0 normal to the axis of the pump shaft I. A synthetic seal ring II, inserted in a groove I2 in the flange 9, prevents leakage between the pump shaft I and flange 9 which turn together.

A shoulder I3 on the pump shaft carries the thrust washer I I for the helical spring I5 which biases flange 9 outwardly, i. e. to the right in Fig. l

1 (all right and left directions being taken herein as in this figure) against the lead-bronze bearing I6 which is soldered to the lefthand end of the'brass spool member I'I-whose righthand end is biased by the disc spring washer I8 to the left, the outer edge of spring washer I8 abutting a shoulder I9 of the clamping ring 20. This arrangement keeps the bearing surface II] of the flange 9 and that of the mating bearing surface of the lead-bronze washer It in running contact. The chamber 6 contains means, e. g. a gear on pump shaft I which gear is fitted with working end clearances within the housing 4, for opposing the thrust of the spring washer I8.

Spool member I! has attached a nylon-impregnated synthetic rubber diaphragm 2| which is clamped by the generally annular brass ring 22 against the lefthand end of the spool I'I whose righthand end 23, against which washer I 8 presses, hasbeen spun over to provide the stated clamp,

ing. Diaphragm 2I is sufliciently flexible to enable the bearing washer It to follow the hearing surface In of rotating flange 9 at speeds of the order of 10,000 R. P. M. even though the flange be not in perfect alignment.

The outer portion of diaphragm 2I is clamped against the housings shoulder 24 by the highly compressible cork-compound ring sealing washer 25, which fits within the threads 26 of the housing 4, when the clamping ring 20 is screwed into place. Located between the outer surface of the compressible ring washer 25 and the inner surface of the clamping ring 20 is the brass ring plate 21 which is provided with an outer tab 28 which fits Within a slot 29 which extends radially beyond the threads 26 into the housing 4, the slot 29 being parallel with the axis of the pump shaft. This tab 28 and slot 29 prevent the rotation of the ring plate 2'! due to the torsional drag of the bearing between flange 9 and its hearing it, this torque being carried through the spool l1 and the brass ring 22 to slots 3|! into which fit two bent tabs 3| which are portions of the ring plate 21.

It is apparent that complete sealing occurs since: (a) the synthetic ring ll prevents leakage between the pump shaft l and the flange 9, (b) the highly lapped thrust surface ID of flange 9 turns smoothly against its mating bearing plate Hi to prevent appreciable leakage there since these surfaces are forced tightly together by the spring washer l8 and the spring l since the shaft is held against axially-inward movement by the pump gear, and (c) the diaphragm 2| prevents leakage between the member I1 and the housing 4.

In former known attempts to solve the problem of taking the torsional load off such a flexible diaphragm 2|, the torsionally restraining means for the spool I! was located on the pump side of the diaphragm 2|. While this sealed bearing could be assembled at the factory with the aid of suitable locating fixtures, difliculty developed in the field when replacements were attempted. In the field, the operator normally did not have available the fixtures for locating the torque-restraining means and was usually unable to locate them by feel While attempting to insert the sealed bearings against the considerable force of the helical spring l5.

To meet this situation by the present invention, the torque-restraining tabs 28 and 3i of the.

ring plate 21 are located on the axially-outside end of the diaphragm 2| so that the slots 30 are visible during diaphragm replacements and can hence be lined up by turning the diaphragm assembly so that the slots 30 visibly come into the same plane with the slot 29, after which the ring plate 21 is dropped into place with its tabs 28 and 3| respectively engaging slot 29 in the pump housing 4 and slots 30 in the ring 22.

Clamping ring 20 is provided at its axiallyouter end with the diametrical slots 32 for engagement with a spanner (not shown) which is manually turned to screw the clamping ring tightly into place.

After the clamping ring 20 has been thus screwed into place, the steel snap ring 33 is forced into a circumferential groove 34 located at the axially-outer end of the female threaded portion of the housing 4, the steel snap ring 33 being constructed to tend to expand when in this position to hence retain the clamping ring 20 in position against accidental loosening.

The certainty of locking is commonly increased by slightly backing off the clamping ring 20 after the snap ring 33 is in place, the resiliency of the cork-compound washer 25 ensuring the fluidtightness of the seal between the housings shoulder 24 and the diaphragm 2|.

Although only one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, various changes in the form and relative arrangements of the parts, which will now appear to those skilled in the art, may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Reference is, therefore, to be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a housing adapted to contain a fluid, a shaft which is rotatable in the housing, a flange closely fitting the shaft and having both a groove next to the shaft and a smooth hard bearing-surface of revolution about the shafts axis, a sealing ring in the groove and tightly bearing against both the shaft and the flange to prevent leakage therebetween, means for causing the flange to turn with the shaft while permitting limited movement of the flange along the shaft, resilient means biasing the flange outwardly along the shaft, an annular member having a smooth relatively soft bearing surface mating with the hard bearing surface of the flange, a flexible annular diaphragm tightly clamped against a portion of the member at the smaller-diameter portion of the diaphragm, means for tightly clamping the larger-diameter portion of the diaphragm against the housing, the last-named means including both an outer externally threaded clamping ring and an intermediate washer which bears against the largerdiameter portion of the diaphragm, the housing being internally threaded to mate with said clamping ring with the threads parallel with the shaft; slots, parallel with the shaft, in the internally threaded portion of the housing and in a peripherai portion of the member, which portion is outside of the diaphragm; a ring plate having tab portions loosely fitting the slots to substantially prevent twisting of thevmember relative to the housing and hence to relieve the diaphragm of the torque due to friction between the bearing surfaces of the flange and of the member when the shaft rotates, a spring abutting the outer end of the member and a portion of said clamping ring to thrustingly bias the relatively rotatingmating portions of the flange and member into bearing relation to prevent leakage therebetween, and means accessible from the outer end of the fluid seal for screwing said clamping ring into position to cause tight clamping of the larger-diameter portion of the diaphragm.

2. In combination, a housing adapted to contain a fluid, a shaft which is rotatable in the housing, means connected with the shaft to turn therewith and having a smooth bearing-surface of revolution about the shafts axis; an annular member having a relatively soft bearing surface mating with the first-named bearing-surface, the bearing surfaces being of diiferent hardnesses, an annular flexible diaphragm having its smallerdiameter portion tightly clamped by a portion of the member, means for tightly clamping the larger-diameter portion of the diaphragm against the housing, the last-named means including both an outer clamping ring and an intermediate highly compressible washer bearing against the larger-diameter portion of the diaphragm, the housing being constructed to have a generally cylindrical hole fitting said clamping rings periphery to permit axial movement of the clamping ring relative thereto; slots, parallel with the shaft, in said cylindrical hole portion of the housing and in a peripheral portion of the member, which portion is outside of the diaphragm; a ring plate having tab portions loosely fitting the slots to substantially prevent twisting of the member relative to the housing and hence to relieve the diaphragm of the torque due to friction between the bearing surfaces of the flange and of the member when the shaft rotates, a springabutting the outer end of the member and a portion of said clamping ring to thrustingly bias the relatively rotating mating portions of the flange and member into bearing relation to prevent leakage therebetween, means having a portion accessible from the outer end of the fluid seal for detachably securing said clamping ring in normal operating position to coact with the compressible Number Name Date washer to cause tight clamping of the larger- 2,297,802 Hornsehuch Sept. 29, 1942 diameter portion of the diaphragm to normally 2,362,854 Stephens Nov. 14, 1944 prevent leakage around the outside of the dia- 2382345 MeCormaek Aug. 14, 1945 phragm, and means for preventing the acciden- 5 2,389,528 MoConaghy Nov. 20, 1945 till loosening of said clamping ring when the lat- 2,395,359 Vedovell Feb. 19, 1946 ter is in said normal operating position. 2,401,379 Smith June 4, 1946 RAYMOND T. ZWACK.

FOREIGN PATENTS REFERENCES CITED Number Country Date The following references are of record in the 648,051 Great Britain 1942 file of this patent: 256,543 Great Britain 1926 um'rnn sums m'mn'rs a 3 Number Name Date ll 2,294,387 Curtis et al. Sept. 1, 1943 

